Rory Gaffney reveals fitness battle before leading Shamrock Rovers' title charge with crucial goals
RORY GAFFNEY admitted he had to sprint before he could think of another Shamrock Rovers' run.
Gaffney, 35, moved the Hoops' a step closer to their fifth title in six years on Sunday night with two goals to beat Derry City at Tallaght Stadium.
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Rory Gaffney has ten goals in all competitions this season for the Hoops.
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Gaffey bagged a double against Derry City on Sunday and chipped in during their Euro clash vs St Joseph's
It gives them a ten-point lead at the top with ten games to go, with Gaffney a key man in that run as he has also scored pivotal winning goals against Waterford and Galway United.
He has ten-goals in all competitions this season and has had boss Stephen Bradley singing his praises all year.
Yet, when the season kicked off last February, Gaffney - from Tuam - was out of contract and training without pay in a bid to prove his fitness after a write-off of a 2024 season.
An ankle problem meant his season ended last April, and Gaffney - who turned down two-year offers elsewhere to sign a one -year with the Hoops last year - had few options.
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But Gaffney never had any doubt as he felt he just had to prove his fitness.
He said: 'When you get a bit older people kind of question your age, but I lived a clean life for 10-15 years.
'I've never been a big drinker, I've always been mad into training and coming from a GAA background, you do plenty of gym work.
'I know I've been unlucky and had a lot of big injuries, but I've only had three or four muscle injuries in 10-15 years, so I've been very lucky like that.
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'I know last year I was injured but I was training non-stop, I just couldn't sprint, that was the issue. When I was sprinting I'd break down.'
Eventually, he and the club decided an operation was required which ended any hopes of being involved in last year's run-in or Conference League campaign.
Guehi & Eze to STAY at Palace? Transfer Blow for Liverpool & Arsenal!
And Gaffney set out to get back fit and remain a Hoop.
Boss Stephen Bradley revealed: 'I just trust Rory, I've known him a long time, I played with him (at Limerick in 2012 and 2013), I've known him a long, long time.
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'And Rory's…there's no grey area with Rory. He's straight down the line, he tells you what he's thinking, what he's feeling.
'We spoke (during the winter), he asked could he come back and prove himself in pre-season.
'And I said 'I'd love that', and he did. And he came back, did his work, and you could see he was ready to go. If he keeps going like that, there's another few years left in him.'
Gaffney - who joined the Hoops in 2020 and was player of the year in 2022 - was also confident he would earn a new deal once he proved his fitness.
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He added: 'I just knew I had to get fit. I played a game against Bohs U20s on the Friday night or Saturday night (before the season started) and just proved my fitness in that.
'I was able to run. I didn't touch the ball, but I was able to run. The gaffer saw I could run and said 'that's enough for me'.
'I haven't missed a training session since I signed this season. I haven't played a whole lot at the start of the season but I was doing a lot of extra training.'
Rovers' still look after him as Gaffney - who has featured in 21 of the 27 games in all competitions when he was available - has played just one 90 minutes.
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NOT DONE YET
And the 35-year-old agreed with Bradley that he also believes he can continue on next season, pointing to 37-year-old Padraig Amond at Waterford as an example.
He added: 'How I feel now, if it was the end of the season, there is no question that I could play again next year.
'I think it's taking it season by season but the last thing I want to be doing is travelling up and down from Galway knowing I'm not going to play, being poor in training and not impacting matches or not getting a game.
'I've had a good run at it now, I don't want to drag it on if there's no reason to.'
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But Bradley insisted that Gaffney's knowhow means he can make an impact even if as he gets older having changed his game since his Limerick days over a decade ago.
Bradley added: 'He was raw, Rory was all power and pace then. That's what he relied on. It was a dream to play him as a midfielder, but now his whole game is refined.
'That just comes with age, understanding, experience.'
Gaffney added: 'The league was a different league back then and it was part-time and nowhere as fit, didn't train as much, never recorded games so you couldn't watch games back.
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'Now I won't be able to sleep as I can watch that game back before I go to bed and you can pick out things you haven't done well and things that have gone well and you can learn from that.
'I didn't really start watching games back until I was 26 which is crazy when you think about it but it shows how far the league has come.'
And it has helped Gaffney become a firm favourite in Tallaght since arriving just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020.
Injured in his first season, he was a key man as Rovers won four-in a row with titles added in 2021, 2022 and 2023 before he missed most of last season through injury.
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And Gaffney is confident the Hoops can reclaim the title this season as they now lead second-placed Bohemians by ten points with ten games to go.
TITLE CHARGE
Gaffney added: 'We've 26 games played, and 52 points. That's two points a game, that normally wins the league.
'You don't want to be arrogant or disrespectful to other teams but we'd back ourselves now if everyone was starting on no points with ten games to go.
'Why wouldn't we back ourselves with a ten-point headstart, plus our goal difference? And all the teams have to play each other again, there is going to be a lot of six pointers.'
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But before that, the Hoops are in European action this week as they travel to Kosovo to face Ballkani in the Conference League third round first leg.
Rovers' hope to be at full strength with Graham Burke and Jack Byrne both not risked with small injuries against Derry City on Sunday.
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Yet, when the season kicked off last February, Gaffney - from Tuam - was out of contract and training without pay in a bid to prove his fitness after a write-off of a 2024 season. An ankle problem meant his season ended last April, and Gaffney - who turned down two-year offers elsewhere to sign a one -year with the Hoops last year - had few options. Advertisement But Gaffney never had any doubt as he felt he just had to prove his fitness. He said: 'When you get a bit older people kind of question your age, but I lived a clean life for 10-15 years. 'I've never been a big drinker, I've always been mad into training and coming from a GAA background, you do plenty of gym work. 'I know I've been unlucky and had a lot of big injuries, but I've only had three or four muscle injuries in 10-15 years, so I've been very lucky like that. Advertisement 'I know last year I was injured but I was training non-stop, I just couldn't sprint, that was the issue. When I was sprinting I'd break down.' 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Advertisement 'Now I won't be able to sleep as I can watch that game back before I go to bed and you can pick out things you haven't done well and things that have gone well and you can learn from that. 'I didn't really start watching games back until I was 26 which is crazy when you think about it but it shows how far the league has come.' And it has helped Gaffney become a firm favourite in Tallaght since arriving just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020. Injured in his first season, he was a key man as Rovers won four-in a row with titles added in 2021, 2022 and 2023 before he missed most of last season through injury. Advertisement And Gaffney is confident the Hoops can reclaim the title this season as they now lead second-placed Bohemians by ten points with ten games to go. TITLE CHARGE Gaffney added: 'We've 26 games played, and 52 points. That's two points a game, that normally wins the league. 'You don't want to be arrogant or disrespectful to other teams but we'd back ourselves now if everyone was starting on no points with ten games to go. 'Why wouldn't we back ourselves with a ten-point headstart, plus our goal difference? And all the teams have to play each other again, there is going to be a lot of six pointers.' Advertisement But before that, the Hoops are in European action this week as they travel to Kosovo to face Ballkani in the Conference League third round first leg. Rovers' hope to be at full strength with Graham Burke and Jack Byrne both not risked with small injuries against Derry City on Sunday.
